Larry Flynt opposes death penalty for man who paralysed him and killed five others

Porn publisher Larry Flynt says he doesn't want to see the serial killer whose
gunshots left him paralysed 35 years ago put to death for his crimes.

The Hustler magazine publisher said he doesn't believe capital punishment is a deterrent to crime.Photo: Getty Images

AP

11:57PM BST 17 Oct 2013

In an essay published in The Hollywood Reporter, Flynt says that while he would love to take pliers and a pair of wire cutters to torture Joseph Paul Franklin, he does not believe in the death penalty.

Franklin has been in prison since 1980 for a string of shootings that left five people dead and others wounded. He is scheduled to be executed Nov. 20 in Missouri.

"I have every reason to be overjoyed with that decision, but I am anything but," writes Flynt, who has been paralyzed from the waist down since he was shot in 1978 on the steps of a Georgia courthouse. He was there to fight pornography charges.

The Hustler magazine publisher said he doesn't believe capital punishment is a deterrent to crime. He wrote that when pickpockets were executed in 18th century England, people who turned out to watch the public hangings often had their pockets picked.

"That's a true story, and, if you're ever trying to convince somebody of why the death penalty is not a deterrent, that's a good example," Flynt wrote.